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The latest from E3: Bethesda teases new Elder Scrolls and Fallout games, while Microsoft brings the exclusives

The Star’s Raju Mudhar is in Los Angeles for the year’s biggest video game convention, filing daily updates on the biggest news of the day.

Bethesda rages on

Bethesda has been tight-lipped about details on the post-apocalyptic Fallout 76, but fans have deduced that it takes place in West Virginia, far from where most nuclear weapons have landed in the Fallout universe (so expect more green environments and less wasteland). (Bethesda Softworks)

“Walmart Canada, known for their low prices and not being able to keep secrets,” is how Pete Hines, who works in marketing for Bethesda, kicked off the company’s news conference right before showing Rage 2, the first game they acknowledged was coming out after the infamous game leak in May.

Then they brought party rocker Andrew W.K. — who was clearly ready to rage — before showing some excellent looking footage of the oncoming game.

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Gamers were waiting for more information on Fallout 76, the new prequel touted as being four times as big as the previous game in the series (Fallout 4). Bethesda annouced a release date of Nov. 14, 2018, and the game will be an online MMO, which marks a new direction for the franchise.

The world of RAGE 2 comes to life with our new announce trailer!

One of the biggest emerging themes of this year E3 is playable female characters in franchises which traditionally have not featured that option. Wolfenstein: Youngblood, set in the 1980s, will allow gamers to take control of with series protagonist B.J. Blazkowicz’s twin daughters.

Watch the official trailer for Fallout 76, arriving worldwide November 14, 2018.

One of the biggest moments was a short tease of The Elder Scrolls VI, but beyond that, no more information was released.

Wolfenstein: Youngblood is a brand-new co-op game unveiled at the Bethesda BE3 Showcase 2018. The game takes place in 1980, 19 years after BJ Blazkowicz ignited the second American Revolution in Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus.

Bethesda also announced Starfield, the company’s first completely new intellectual property in 25 years. It was little more than a tease, but the science-fiction space setting has gamers excited.

Currently in pre-production at Bethesda Game Studios, the acclaimed developers of Skyrim and Fallout 4. The highly-anticipated next chapter in the iconic The Elder Scrolls series.

Discover Starfield, the new space epic currently in development by Bethesda Game Studios. Starfield is the first new franchise in twenty-five years from the acclaimed developers of The Elder Scrolls and Fallout series.

Xbox goes big on games

The biggest complaint from Xbox fans is that while the company has been touting the fact that the Xbox One X is the most powerful console out there, it has been sorely lacking exclusive first-party games, which is the biggest reason most gamers choose to buy a system. The company’s E3 press conference aimed to tackle that criticism head-on.

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Xbox head Phil Spencer touted 50 games, with 18 exclusives, coming for the console. The company literally brought the big guns right off the top, with the return of Master Chief in Halo Infinite. It was little more than a tease, so it is unknown whether it builds on Halo 5: Guardians or if it’s a new story.

Other big games announced include Gears 5, the next game in the space marine franchise, as well as Gears Tactics, a PC strategy game. The company also showed off Crackdown 3, slated to arrive in February 2019. Ubisoft’s The Division 2 returns and goes to Washington. Oakville-made Cuphead also made the big stage, as it will be introducing a new playable character and new bosses coming next year in an expansion called The Delicious Last Course. Toronto’s Capybara Games’ Below was also highlighted in a sizzle reel of oncoming indie games.

The Master Chief returns in Halo Infinite – the next chapter of the legendary franchise. Developed by 343 Industries and created with our new Slipspace Engine, Halo Infinite was revealed at the Xbox E3 2018 Briefing with a thrilling engine demo that provides a glimpse into the future of the Halo franchise, leading it into new and unexpected directions.

There were several first looks at games that will be multiplatform, including Devil May Cry 5, Fallout 76, Just Cause 4, Metro Exodus and Dying Light 2.

In Gears 5 as Kait, journey across the biggest, most beautiful Gears world ever created. Play solo or with a friend in local split-screen co-op, or online co-op and experience every mode in 4K Ultra HD resolution with stunning HDR at a smooth 60 frames per second. Coming in 2019.

Witcher game developer CD Projekt Red unveiled Cyberpunk 2077, a game based on the ’80s role playing game, which showcased a beautiful futuristic city.

Microsoft also announced that it was buying a number of developers, including Ninja Theory, and Playground Games and more, in the hopes of securing more exclusives moving forward.

All that said, most of the games coming for Xbox are arriving in 2019, so while the company delivered with an absolutely jam-packed game focused news conference, gamers will be waiting a while to see these announcements bear fruit they can actually play.

Watch the E3 trailer for Cyberpunk 2077 — the role-playing game of the dark future from CD PROJEKT RED, creators of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

EA: Anthem gets a date

EA unofficially kicked off E3 by holding a press conference and event in Hollywood on Saturday, and the biggest news was that Anthem, the highly anticipated game coming from Edmonton-based Bioware, will be in gamers hands on Feb. 22, 2019. More information was shared about the game, including a new trailer and gameplay footage.

Gamers will play as a Freelancer, who pilots mech suits called Javelins, and face off against bad guys called the Dominion. It's the first completely new IP from Bioware in a decade, which is well known for making science fiction-based role-playing games, and the hope is that the game will live up to their previous hits, like the Mass Effect trilogy.

In terms of other reveals, EA will be adding a battle royale mode to Battlefield 5. This is not a surprise, as games such as Fortnite and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds have become hugely popular with this game mode, which pits 100 players against each other until only one is left.

EA also announced Star Wars: Fallen Jedi Order, coming from Respawn Entertainment, which will be coming sometime in 2019. Other games showcased include Madden 19, FIFA 19, a beautiful looking indie game called Sea of Solitude, a new mobile game based on the Command & Conquer franchise, and Unravel 2, a game that went on sale immediately after the press conference.

On a world left unfinished by the gods, humanity struggles to survive in a savage environment. Equipped with incredible Javelin exosuits, a faction known as the Freelancers seeks to tip the balance in mankind’s favor.

The other big piece of news is that EA said it would not use loot crates in Anthem, and struck a somewhat apologetic tone for their previous use. The company came under fire for using these randomized purchases in Star Wars: Battlefront II last year, which gamers needed to open to progress in the game. The trend now is to limit them mostly to cosmetic items, like costumes for in-game characters.

When humans get too lonely, they turn into monsters. That’s what happened to Kay. But she’s not alone – this ocean is full of creatures just like her. Finding them may be the key to changing her back.

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